Basic Photography Course

PH3 Joan Zopf

3 0 2 . 3 0 4

Figure 5-22.Dwindling size perspective.

Dwindling Size Perspective

Through the experience of vision, you are aware of

the size of many common objects, such as people, trees,
cars, buildings, and animals; for example, you are aware
that most adults are about 5 to 6 feet tall; therefore, when
two people are shown in a picture and one appears twice
as tall as the other, you cannot assume that one is in
reality taller than the other. Instead you assume the taller
person is closer and the shorter person farther away from
the camera viewpoint. In this same manner, you make a

size relationship evaluation of all familiar objects. Thus
you can make a distance determination from this size
relationship evaluation. The farther away an object is
from the viewpoint, the smaller it appears; therefore,
when subjects of familiar size are included in a
photograph, they help to establish the scale of the picture

(fig. 5-22). Scale helps the viewer determine or visualize

the actual size or relative size of the objects in the
picture.

Volume Perspective

When a subject is lighted with very diffised light,

the three-dimensional form or volume of the subject is
difficult to perceive because of the lack of distinct
shadows. If, on the other hand, subjects are lighted with
strong directional light from angles that cause part of the
subject to be fully lighted and other parts to be in
shadow, a visual clue of the subject's form or volume is
provided When a number of such objects are included

within the picture area, the perception of form, volume,
and depth is increased. When front or side lighting is
used, the length, depth, and shape of the shadows cast
on the ground provide a perspective of each object's
volume. Also, the distance between shadows cast on the

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Basic Photography Course

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